Take a trip down memory lane as we recall some of the great Reds-Waratahs clashes

ITCHING to watch this weekend’s clash between the Waratahs and Reds? Here’s five classic encounters to get the blood boiling!

Stunned NSW Waratahs players and fans watch as the Queensland Reds run in to celebrate Do

THERE’S more than a century of rugby hate between Queensland and NSW with the next chapter to be written on Saturday night at ANZ Stadium.

Never short on passion or intensity, Waratahs-Reds clashes are not always the most open encounters but what they sometimes lack in entertainment they make up for in drama.

Take Dom Shipperley’s match-winning five-pointer at ANZ Stadium in 2012 for example, or the always brutal battles between David Croft and Phil Waugh that saw more blood than a butcher’s apron.

No matter the venue – Australian rugby’s oldest interstate clash seldom disappoints.

Here’s five of the best to get your fire burning before Saturday night.

2010: NSW 30 d Qld Reds 28 (Suncorp Stadium)

Current Wallabies boss Ewen Mckenzie took charge of the Reds for the first time against the Waratahs - a team he’d previously played for and then led to a Super Rugby final as a coach. McKenzie looked set to start his new job with a win as the Reds led 28-18 inside the final 10 minutes. But two late tries, including the last-minute match-winner from Wycliff Palu, saw the southerners steal victory and increase their unbeaten record against Queensland to six years.

2004: Qld 23 d NSW 7 (Suncorp Stadium)

After being branded as ‘’hillbillies” in the lead-up, this match was only going to go one way. An Australian Super 12 record crowd of more than 42,000 turned up to watch Reds legend and serial ‘Tahs tormentor Chris Latham inspire his side with a “signature interstate performance’’ that sealed another famous Queensland win and ended NSW’s finals hopes.

2006: NSW 16 d QLD 12 (Suncorp Stadium)

Wendell Sailor played for the Waratahs? Yep, it happened. The year was 2006 and after a forgettable season with the Reds, “Big Dell” found himself in Sydney alongside fellow convert Lote Tuqiri. The QRU were far from impressed by Sailor’s decision to head south and thus instructed their marketing team to promote the season opener against the Tahs under the banner of “Boo Dell”. The crowd certainly responded and the players also got involved with little more than 30 seconds on the clock before the first punches were thrown. Rocky Elsom scored the only try of the match and while Big Dell did precious little for much of the match, he had the final say when he booted the ball into touch to secure a 16-12 Waratahs win.

Sailor had the last laugh on his return to Suncorp.

1996: Qld 15 d NSW 13 (Ballymore).

Back where it all began. It didn’t take long for the hatred element to stamp itself in the Super Rugby era - Reds winger Damian Smith was sent off just 12 minutes into this match for a high shot after earlier trying to rearrange David Campese’s head with his fist. The dismissal didn’t cost the Reds, who showed typical Queensland spirit to defy NSW with just 14 men and register bragging rights that would last for nine years.

2012: QLD 25 NSW 21 (ANZ Stadium)

The Reds swamped Shipperley after his match-winning effort

It’s rugby 101. The clock’s winding down and all you have to do is hold on to the ball and avoid a turnover or penalty. Waratahs halfback Brendan McKibbin must have missed that lesson as a junior and his side would pay dearly in the opening match of the 2012 Super Rugby season. With little more than 30 seconds on the clock, McKibbin kicked away possession to give the Reds one final chance to snatch victory. The visitors secured the ball and moments later fed winger Dom Shipperley, the speedster sprinting 65 metres to cross for the match-winner and send much of the 32,000-strong crowd home shaking their heads.